Review: On Your Mark Training + Coaching and BSC Coaching

As Midwestern bike racers in the depths of winter, each one of us is considering how to have a successful cycling season in 2009. We are all aware that winter training includes a combination of motivation, chamois-time (riding your bike), and some sort of strength training. There are myriad ways to blend each of these three components, and anyone looking for the type of focused work that leads to the ability to enforce your will on the peleton might consider the following resources.


On Your Mark Training

I reviewed one-half of the duo behind OYM, Annette Fiscelli, over a year ago when she tested the lactate threshold of the entire team. However, most of my experience has been with Emily Hutchins, a rider who also is a member of l'equipe Bouledogue (You can find many pages on our site extolling Emily's racing prowess).

Almost a year ago, I found out that I had been training and racing for perhaps as many as three years with hemorrhaged disks in my back. Over the course of those three years, my body had adjusted and compensated for all of the muscular and nervous crosstalk in such a way that I actually sat crooked on my bike. After much rehab, I started to work with Em to find ways to increase my core strength to make me a stronger bike racer, to straighten out my hips, and to prevent further harm to my spine. The solution was functional strength training, and you can find a long description of it on the OYM website. Although my problem ended up being much bigger than any sort of therapy could solve on its own, I can say that Emily fixed my crooked hips; and, during the small racing window that I did have last year, I sprinted very, very well. I would have to say that as far as cycling goes, the kind of functional strength training that I did at OYM is head and shoulders above any weightlifting workout. It will give you the strength and resiliency for those really difficult races.

Although both Emily and Annette like to work one-on-one, they also offer functional strength training courses at a group rate, so even the most cash-strapped of us can join in. Moreover, they are both licensed coaches for USA Cycling and USA triathlon, and have four computrainers that can be rented at a very affordable price. Are you a budding Ironmanwho wants to know what it is like to race Ironman Florida? Go to OYM, pay a small fee, and ride the course indoors.



BSC Coaching
Brian Conant, the one-man show behind BSC Coaching, is the person that every successful cycle racer needs in his/her corner. Brian's enthusiasm for racing and training comes through from the first e-mail through the last. I quickly found out that Brian has a knack for motivating clients through the most difficult portions of a training plan; something that has great value in the depths of winter training.

But Conant's training plans are not easy; especially if you like to laze around with a bunch of base miles in the winter time. He will make you work like no other coach and, at least once a week, have you wishing you were riding something other than your bike. The benefit is that Brian will make you fast. Moreover, he will get you up to speed quicker than you ever expected and with less time commitment than you though necessary. He once told me that with proper training, almost anyone can be a category 2 racer. If you don't believe me when I say Brian gets results, just ask Devon Haskell and Mike Scherer. Both of these locals have seen significant results as clients of BSC. If you want to be a rider possessing the "Annhilation Now" button, then drop Brian a note (bconant@msn.com) and get ready to kill the opposition.